Mike Callicrate is the named plaintiff in the lawsuit filed against the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service, Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) and the CBB’s Beef Promotion Operating Committee. Callicrate is the owner of a meat packing facility and retail market called Ranch Direct Foods in Colorado Springs, Colo. He also is vice president of the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM).

Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that the NCBA receives a large majority of checkoff funded projects. The lawsuit alleges that the CBB operating committee awards the contracts to NCBA while the CBB is controlled by NCBA. Callicrate alleges that NCBA is approving their own funding from the CBB for their own benefit and for the purpose of promoting an industrial model of beef production, processing and distribution – harming both producers and consumers.